Mother's Day menu templates for UK restaurants, pubs and tearooms
Updated 20 October 2026
In the UK, Mother's Day is Mothering Sunday, which falls on Sunday 7 March 2027, so fix your sittings and publish a Sunday lunch or afternoon tea menu by mid-January. Nearly every booking wants lunchtime or mid-afternoon, so run timed sittings, take menu choices in advance and sell an afternoon-tea box for collection to families who can't get a table. Copy the four free templates below into Word or Google Docs, or paste them into our menu maker and download a PDF to print.
Mothering Sunday 2027 and 2028
| 2027 | 2028 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mothering Sunday (UK Mother's Day) | Sunday 7 March | Sunday 26 March |
| Easter Sunday, three weeks later | Sunday 28 March | Sunday 16 April |
| US Mother's Day (a different date) | Sunday 9 May | Sunday 14 May |
Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, so it moves with Easter. GOV.UK lists Good Friday 2027 as 26 March and Easter Monday as 29 March, which puts Easter Sunday on 28 March and Mothering Sunday three weeks earlier. It isn't a bank holiday. In 2028 it lands on 26 March, the morning the clocks go forward, so staff and guests lose an hour before lunch.
The US Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, is a separate occasion; keep it out of your UK marketing.
Choose a Mother's Day menu
| Template | Suits | Price it |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday lunch set menu | Pubs, carveries, restaurants | Two or three courses, with a children's price |
| Afternoon tea | Tearooms, hotels, cafés | Per person, with a fizz supplement |
| Brunch | Cafés and all-day venues | À la carte or a set brunch for the table |
| Takeaway afternoon-tea box | Cafés, bakeries, delis | Per box for two, pre-ordered for collection |
Mothering Sunday lunch set menu
Mothering Sunday at [your venue name] · Sunday 7 March Two courses £____ · Three courses £____ · Children under 12 £____ Sittings: 12:00 · 14:00 · 16:00 (tables for 1 hour 45 minutes)
Starters: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ (V) Roasts: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ (VG), all with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and ____________ Puddings: ____________ · ____________ · ____________
A posy for every mum, with our compliments. Please choose your courses when you book and tell us about allergies then.
Mother's Day afternoon tea menu
Afternoon tea for Mother's Day · [your tearoom name] £____ per person · add a glass of ____________ for £____
Sandwiches: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ · egg mayonnaise and cress Scones: plain and fruit, with clotted cream and ____________ jam Cakes: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ To drink: a pot of ____________ tea or a coffee, refilled
Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free afternoon teas: please order at least ____ days ahead.
Mother's Day brunch menu
Mother's Day brunch · [your café name] · from ____ am ____________ (eggs Benedict / royale / Florentine) £____ ____________ (pancakes or French toast) £____ ____________ (full breakfast, with a V option) £____ Brunch for the table: ____________ for 4, £____ Drinks: ____________ £____ · fresh juice £____ · ____________ £____
Takeaway afternoon-tea box
Afternoon tea at home · [your café or bakery name] £____ per box for two · collect Saturday 6 or Sunday 7 March
Inside: 8 finger sandwiches (____________, ____________), 4 scones with clotted cream and jam, 6 cakes (____________)
Order at least 2 days ahead at [your ordering link or QR code]. Pick a collection slot when you order. An allergen list comes with every box.
Sittings and table turns on Mothering Sunday
Timed sittings let you serve more families without rushing anyone. For example:
| Sitting | Table time | Reset before the next sitting |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | 12:00–13:45 | 15 minutes |
| 14:00 | 14:00–15:45 | 15 minutes |
| 16:00 | 16:00–17:45 (afternoon tea works well here) | End of service |
With 15 tables, three sittings give up to 45 table bookings. Print the end time on the confirmation, and ask tables of eight or more for their courses a week ahead.
Afternoon tea costing per person
An example of how one afternoon tea could be priced (example numbers, not benchmarks):
| Line | Cost per person |
|---|---|
| Four finger sandwiches | £1.40 |
| Two scones with clotted cream and jam | £1.10 |
| Three cakes or pastries | £1.65 |
| Tea or coffee with refills | £0.35 |
| Total food and drink cost | £4.50 |
| Target GP 72%: £4.50 ÷ 0.28 | £16.07 before VAT |
| Plus 20% VAT | £19.29 |
| Menu price | £19.50 (72.3% GP) |
| Glass of fizz: cost £1.60, sold for £7.00 | 72.6% GP on the supplement |
A table of four where two people take the fizz pays £92.00. For the box for two, cost the same food without the tea (£8.30) plus £0.90 of packaging: £9.20. Cold takeaway food is often zero-rated, but some items, such as chocolate-covered biscuits, are standard-rated, so check each item in the box; our VAT on takeaway food guide explains the rules. If everything in it is zero-rated, £31 for two gives about a 70% GP. Use the menu price calculator or the GP calculator for your own figures.
Allergens and labelling for afternoon tea
- One plate, many allergens. Sandwiches bring wheat (gluten), egg, mustard and fish (smoked salmon). Scones and clotted cream bring milk. Frangipane, macarons and Bakewell slices bring almonds. List each item on the tier, not just "afternoon tea", in your allergen record. The 14 allergens guide has the full list.
- Make free-from teas apart, on their own board with separate tongs, and ask how severe the allergy is at booking.
- Boxes packed before anyone orders are PPDS. If you fill afternoon-tea boxes in the morning and sell them from your counter, they are prepacked for direct sale under Natasha's Law: each needs a label giving the food's name and every ingredient, with the allergens emphasised (bold is common). Boxes you pack only after a customer has ordered aren't PPDS, but you must still give allergen information. For boxes ordered online, it has to be available before the order is placed and again at collection. Our Natasha's Law guide covers it, and the free allergen label maker prints the labels.
When to open Mothering Sunday bookings
| When (2027) | What to do |
|---|---|
| Monday 11 January | Cost the menus and fix your sittings. |
| Monday 18 January | Publish the menus and open table bookings. |
| Monday 15 February | Open afternoon-tea box pre-orders, the day after Valentine's. |
| Sunday 28 February | Ask large tables for their courses and dietary needs. |
| Friday 5 March | Last orders for Sunday box collections (with 2 days' notice). |
| Saturday 6 March | Bake and pack the boxes to order. |
| Sunday 7 March | Sittings at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00; box collections from 10:00. |
| Monday 8 March | Switch off the Mother's Day dishes and start on Easter. |
Set up Mothering Sunday on Menuthere
- Put the menus online. Add the lunch as a dish with sizes, such as "Two courses", "Three courses" and "Child under 12", each with its own price; sizes work on every plan, including Free, and every order is 0% commission.
- Take table bookings (Lite). Open Sunday only, add three table time slots (12:00–13:45, 14:00–15:45, 16:00–17:45) and switch on Ask number of people. Guests see Book a table on your menu, and a push notification reaches you an hour before each table is due.
- Collect courses with the booking. Set Which items can be prebooked for dine-in to Specific items and tick the Mothering Sunday dishes; the kitchen then sees every choice before the day.
- Sell the afternoon-tea box with collection slots (Lite). Turn on prebooking for takeaway with Date & time, a Date range of 6 to 7 March and fixed collection times such as 10:00–11:00. Under Specific items, tick the box, set the Earliest booking time to 2 days and Only made on to Saturday and Sunday. Paid online with Stripe, the money is in before you bake.
- Bring families back. On Pro, loyalty points reward return visits, perhaps in time for Easter. On any plan, print stamp cards with our free loyalty card maker. If you have a branded app of your own, send its users a push message as soon as Mothering Sunday tables open.
Lite is US$17 a month, charged in US dollars even for UK venues, and Pro is US$39. Both come with a 7-day trial that needs a card up front but charges nothing until the trial is over. Details are on our pricing page, and our restaurant booking system page shows how guests book.
put your Mothering Sunday menu online today.
Planning the spring? The Valentine's Day templates come before this date and the Easter menu templates three weeks after. For the year ahead, see the restaurant marketing calendar, our Christmas menu templates and every design in the menu templates gallery.
FAQs
When is Mother's Day 2027 in the UK?
Sunday 7 March 2027. UK Mother's Day is Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter Sunday. In 2028 it falls on Sunday 26 March.
Is UK Mother's Day the same date as in the US?
No. The US Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May, which is Sunday 9 May in 2027. Mothering Sunday in the UK moves with Easter and usually falls in March.
What should a Mother's Day set menu include?
Two or three courses with a roast, a vegetarian or vegan choice, a children's price and a pudding. Add your sitting times, your allergen line and when guests must choose their courses.
How do I price a Mother's Day afternoon tea?
Cost every item on the stand plus the tea, divide by the share left as cost (0.28 for a 72% GP), then add 20% VAT. A £4.50 cost at a 72% GP comes to about £19.29, so £19.50 on the menu, with fizz as a separate supplement.
How many sittings should I run on Mothering Sunday?
Three sittings suit a day of lunch and afternoon tea, for example at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00, each with a table time of about 1 hour 45 minutes. Put the end time on the booking confirmation.
Do takeaway afternoon-tea boxes need allergen labels?
If you pack them before anyone orders and sell them from your own premises, they are prepacked for direct sale and need a full ingredients label with allergens emphasised. Boxes packed after an order don't need that label, but allergen information must still be given.
Sources (6)
- GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (Good Friday 26 Mar 2027, Easter Monday 29 Mar 2027; Good Friday 14 Apr 2028, Easter Monday 17 Apr 2028). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
- Portsmouth Cathedral, The origins and history of Mothering Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/portsmouth-cathedral-news/the-origins-and-history-of-mothering-sunday
- GOV.UK, When do the clocks change? (clocks go forward 26 March 2028). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change
- Food Standards Agency, Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS food (GOV.UK). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-to-allergen-labelling-for-ppds-food/introduction-to-allergen-labelling-for-ppds-food
- Food Standards Agency, Allergen guidance for food businesses (GOV.UK). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses
- HMRC, Food products (VAT Notice 701/14). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/food-products-and-vat-notice-70114